"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis

Monday, September 05, 2016

Whether He Releases Them Or Not, The Trumpanzee Tax Saga Is A Window Into His Character And Fitness For Office

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Mike Pence was on Meet the Press yesterday and said "Donald Trump and I are both going to release our tax returns. I'll release mine in the next week." Yes? Yes? And what about your crooked boss? When will his returns be released. No news there. Pence reiterated the dishonest excuse Señor Trumpanzee has been giving all along for not releasing his tax returns. Pence said the crooked Trumpanzee will be "releasing his tax returns at the completion of an audit" and added that "we'll see" if that comes before the election of not.El Trumpanzee, Pence and their crooked spokespersons will continue lying about why the crooked Trump won't release his taxes, but yesterday Judd Legum tore the coverings off the self-inflicted wound up for everyone to see, first pointing out what's been clear since Trump made up his silly audit excuse that "an audit, according to the IRS, does not preclude the release of tax returns. In fact, it actually makes the release of returns less risky. The primary issue with making your tax returns public is triggering an audit. Trump doesn’t have to be worried about that."Trump has claimed that he can't release any of his tax returns because they're all being audited. But, according to his own accountants that just another in a long series of Trumpanzee lies.

The truth is disclosed in a letter from his accountants that was published to the Trump campaign website in March. It reveals that Trump’s returns from 2008 and prior are not under audit and have been “administratively closed” by the IRS.

So when Trump and his campaign staff say they are not releasing his taxes because they are under audit, that’s not true. None of his taxes from 2008 or prior are currently under audit, and yet Trump still hasn’t released those returns.It’s also worth noting that nothing in the letter from his accountants advises him not to release his tax returns.Trump’s tax advisers do note that in a “sense” the “pending examinations are continuations of prior, closed examinations.” But this fiction would justify perpetual non-disclosure of Trump’s returns.Trump, apparently, is audited every year. He is currently arguing that the audit of his 2015 return precludes the release of his 2002 return, even though it is not under audit. Under this theory, even if the 2015 audit is closed, his upcoming 2016 audit would preclude the release of all his returns from 2002 to present.Trump has also not addressed at all why he’s not releasing returns prior to 2002.Trump also is reluctant to reveal even basic information about his taxes, such as his overall tax rate. Asked in a May interview about his tax rate, Trump recoiled. “It’s none of your business,” he snapped.A few days ago, Eric Trump-- Donald’s son and a close adviser -- said it would be “foolish” for his father to ever release his taxes.This point of view doesn’t seem consistent with someone who ever intended on making any of his tax returns public-- at least not before election day. But one thing should be clear: It has nothing to do with an audit.

So on this Labor Day, let's stop thinking about Trump's unpaid taxes and unwillingness to open up his tax returns to public scrutiny for a moment and instead think about how he's screwed ordinary workers all his life and what a Trump presidency would mean for American workers. Watch him discussing his unscripted, non-teleprompter ideas of worker pay and a minimum wage with the Morning Joe principals: